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Friday, November 14, 2014

I'm pretty frugal about buying things for the house, I just have a hard time deciding on something if it's more than like $12 and I get so much more enjoyment from making something anyways, especially if I can make it from scraps and things I find in my stash for free! Here are some thanksgiving turkey themed things I made with scraps from my craft/sewing/art closet.

DIY Turkey Thanksgiving Applique Throw Pillow

I drew a simple turkey design, cut out all the pieces and then traced it onto fusible webbing, stuck it on scraps of fabric, cut them out and ironed onto a piece of unbleached cotton. Cut that all out with a slight edge and then centered over a 22 inch square of the unbleached linen for the pillow and then sewed around all the edges with the yellow thread as you can see in the pictures. I didn't take pics of the process so I couldn't make a tutorial..darn! At the end I stitched a bead on for the turkey's eye. (sorry I don't really know what I'm doing. I just figure out how to make it work so I hope that made enough sense for anyone who wanted to try this..that's why I love step by step picture tutorials...because you don't have to know proper sewing terms and techniques lol)

I used some yellow ribbon trim for the legs and feet.

The back is an envelope style so I can easily remove this thanksgiving turkey pillow cover as the season changes.

Handprint Turkey Applique Canvas Keepsake

I made this one last year as the kids were obsessed with making handprint turkeys, I decided to make some thanksgiving fall decor out of it that would keep forever. stuck some fusible webbing on the fabric and then traced each child's hand on the webbing and cut it out. Then ironed it on to the strip of unbleached linen and stiched it down around the edges and used the sewing maching to make the legs, eyes and gobblers. Then wrapped the canvas with the yellow chevron fabric and added the strip of unbleached linen and just used pushpins on the back to hold it all together. I just whipped it up really quickly with scraps on hand, another free DIY project!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

I've always loved babywearing, and was a big baby sling advocate! I even modeled for Slinglings back in the day to get free slings! lol..yeah I'm not a professional model by any means but for free stuff? Heck yeah!

So as much as I loved using slings from newborn through toddlerhood, this third time around, I invested in an ERGO (60% off on Zulily!) and I haven't looked back! I mean, it is SOOOOO comfortable, I never have to readjust, I can easily put my string bean of a 4 year old in there if he is tired while I push the baby in the stroller and best of all....My hubby can wear the baby now! The slings are fitted to your size...I never thought to order a bigger sling for my hubby, but with the ERGO it is so simple to switch over. The ERGOs are just so well made, so comfortable and just awesome PERIOD!!!! I have tried one carrier my sister let me borrow once that was even better but it was a custom made carrier that was over $200 so I had to quickly erase that experience from my memory! lol! Anyways, I absolutely adore and recommend ERGO all the way....I still used my old slings when baby #3 was a newborn but once he was big enough for the ERGO I really haven't looked back! I like having BOTH arms free. With the sling, both hands are free....sort of. One shoulder is trapped down and it still gets tricky to do certain things. And as a homeschooling mom, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to just put the little one in the ERGO front or back and be hands free to help the older kiddos!

One of my favorite things however is seeing my husband wear the baby! He'll wear the baby while making dinner, he'll wear the baby while playing with the older kids out in the yard, He wears the baby on all our nature adventures/hikes and anytime I just need a break from being attached! It's hot...other single guys who aren't yet dads may not get it...but they would be wise to follow this example some day for it's great for dad and baby bonding and it helps your wife out while making her even more attracted to you!

And we both enjoy the ERGO Performance Carrier with the "breathable Black mesh lining, keeping babies and parents cooler and more comfortable, with a cooling panel for extra wicking." The Performance is great for our hotter southern climate and active lifestyle. I LOVE the hood that ERGOs have to cover up baby that can easily be stuffed into it's pocket and stored away, I love the zippered pouch for parent's personal items...we put our keys and camera there when we go hiking! I put my ID and plane tickets there when travelling so I can easily get around the airport wearing baby and have my important documents right on me, easily accessible. Because of my ERGO, it is totally DO-ABLE for me to travel with 3 young kids cross country by myself without having my arms full and being a total mess. I wish I would have invested in an ERGO with the first baby, but I guess the 3rd times the charm as the saying goes! They are pricey new if you can afford it or get it on a gift registry but definitely check out zulily sales and I've also seen them priced down in the $60 range at TJMAXX before...It may not be your favorite choice of color..but if means the difference of having one vs not having one...just get over the color thing and get it! $60 is the same range as Bjorn but ERGO is oh so much better! :)

Honestly, people buy so much baby stuff they don't really need...save your money on all the crap and just get yourself a good carrier! You will thank yourself! I mean, did I mention I even put my 4 year old in it from time to time? And it DOESN'T hurt my back or shoulders!If you want to show some DADDY BABY WEARING LOVE share your pic on the facebook page here!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I visited a friends brand spankin' new house recently that she some how magically Mary Poppins style decorated in no time to perfection! I really wonder if she had a magic bottomless bag full of cute decor and just sang and danced as it all came into place in a day! I'm too indecisive, frugal and DIY-er to get my house together that fast, and too ADD to notice that things are still not done...but her home did inspire me. I fell in love with her custom family house name sign on her front porch and wanted to make my own. I did a little research to find out what I liked and then made a mashup of a couple styles of family name signs put together.

And this gem I found on google image search by Mango Seed Designs...I cannot for the life of me find this again to post the link as I had saved the pic on my phone...

So anyways, Here is mine

I had an old canvas with a hideous reddish purple-y abtsract painting I had started long ago...I brushed on some turquoise craft paint and once that dried, I lightly sanded it so some of the darker colors underneath would show through. Then Free handed the rest so yes it's imperfect, but isn't the the beauty of homemade/handmade items? Not perfect! At least at my house! Anyways, I'm excited to finally not have a naked front porch!

I really like the chalkboard style welcome family name signs, but since I didn't have any black paint on hand and love turquoise I decided to make it a turquoise welcome house sign! And being frugal, those bales of hay are dual purpose, it's future fresh hay for the chicken coop! I can't believe it's like $8 or more for those tiny little decorative bales of hay when you can go to the feed store and get actual bales of hay for like $5! Now...looking at this picture I just remembered I better go water those mums! And...I guess I can take down the spider now that Halloween is over!